'''''The Handmaid's Tale''''' is a dystopian novel by [[Margaret Atwood]] which describes a future where women are no longer considered people. The population of America is on a rapid decline because of war, pollution, and drug-resistant STIs. The government becomes a totalitarian theocracy and strips women of all their rights, and uses the Old Testament as a guide for a new society. Anyone who goes against the Bible like doctors, scientists, homosexuals, and non-Christians (even those who did before the new society took over) are either deported, executed, or sent to clean up into radioactive wastelands. All second marriages, or non-Christian marriages were nullified and any children conceived in those marriages were taken away and given away to be raised by properly married couples. All single women who were old enough to bear children were given to well-off men as handmaids and used for breeding purposes. Older women were used to help raise these children, or sent away to die.

'''''The Handmaid's Tale''''' is a dystopian novel by [[Margaret Atwood]] which describes a future where women are no longer considered people. The population of America is on a rapid decline because of war, pollution, and drug-resistant STIs. The government becomes a totalitarian theocracy and strips women of all their rights, and uses the Old Testament as a guide for a new society. Anyone who goes against the Bible like doctors, scientists, homosexuals, and non-Christians (even those who did before the new society took over) are either deported, executed, or sent to clean up into radioactive wastelands. All second marriages, or non-Christian marriages were nullified and any children conceived in those marriages were taken away and given away to be raised by properly married couples. All single women who were old enough to bear children were given to well-off men as handmaids and used for breeding purposes. Older women were used to help raise these children, or sent away to die.

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I heard about this book as being high-up in a list of the best science fiction, and, since it had a female author, I was more inclined to read it to add to the diversity of my understanding of the genre. I'm glad I did.

==Status==

==Status==

Revision as of 22:41, 8 November 2017

The Handmaid's Tale is a dystopian novel by Margaret Atwood which describes a future where women are no longer considered people. The population of America is on a rapid decline because of war, pollution, and drug-resistant STIs. The government becomes a totalitarian theocracy and strips women of all their rights, and uses the Old Testament as a guide for a new society. Anyone who goes against the Bible like doctors, scientists, homosexuals, and non-Christians (even those who did before the new society took over) are either deported, executed, or sent to clean up into radioactive wastelands. All second marriages, or non-Christian marriages were nullified and any children conceived in those marriages were taken away and given away to be raised by properly married couples. All single women who were old enough to bear children were given to well-off men as handmaids and used for breeding purposes. Older women were used to help raise these children, or sent away to die.

I heard about this book as being high-up in a list of the best science fiction, and, since it had a female author, I was more inclined to read it to add to the diversity of my understanding of the genre. I'm glad I did.

Contents

Status

Review

Goods

I enjoyed reading about how Serena Joy, who fought so hard to keep women in the home, finally found herself in her home and entirely miserable.

The phrase, "nolite te bastardes carborundorum," will become a new mantra of mine.

Despite the society's piety, it is just like any other Fascist theocracy where the wealthy believe that the law must apply to the lesser people, but not to them.

There is wisdom in how the Christian majority first kicks out non-Christians. Then, Christians who aren't Christian enough (Quakers, Jesuits, etc.), and finally, everyone who isn't the correct brand of Christian (Catholic, Baptists, etc.).

While I found the order of the stories a little hard to follow at first, near the end, I appreciated the disjointedness which kept secrets from the reader about Luke, the woman's daughter, etc.

The various ways the heroine would lie in her stories (about her first sexual encounter with Nick), were an interesting touch.

The Japanese tourists finding the US so quaint and backward kind of mirrors how Americans currently find Afghanistan (even though Afghanistan was pretty liberated in the 1970s).

I loved the character Moira. Her hatred and fervor, and was saddened to hear how the bastards ground her down.

Bad

I was a little bored at times with some of the descriptions. I wish the author had come up with more interesting ways to deal with them.

I was a little annoyed with the ending being so abrupt, but I appreciated the afterward which showed the Republic of Gilead as now being nothing but a historic footnote.

I found the speed at which the USA descended into a totalitarian theocracy a little too rapid to be believable (at least I hope!).